se, where at least they were out of
the storm of the Colonel's wrath. As the light grew brighter a careful
study laid bare the plan of robbery. The stables formed, in part, the
outer wall of the quadrangle. They were roofed with pine boards, covered
with tar-paper on cedar corner posts; the walls, however, were of sods
piled squarely on each other in a well-known Western style, making a
good warm stable. It was a simple matter to take down quickly and
silently this outer wall from the outside, beginning at the top, and so
make another exit. This had been done in the dead of night. And the
track of the racer told the tale like a printed page.

A general alarm had gone forth; all the Fort was astir; and the army
scouts were by the case forced into unusual prominence. It was Al Rennie
spoke first:

"Colonel, it's a-going to rain, sure; it's liable to rain heavy. I
suggest we take that trail right away and follow before it's all washed
out."

"The quicker the better," said the Colonel.

Riding ahead on the trail like a hound went the old trapper-hunter-scout
with a band of troopers following. They had not gone a quarter of a mile
before the rain began to spit. But the line of the trail was clear and
it was easy for the practised eye to follow. It headed east for half a
mile, then, on a hard open stretch of gravel, it turned and went direct
for the Crow camp. Rennie could follow at a gallop; they rounded the
butte, cleared the cottonwoods, crossed the little willow-edged stream,
and reached the Crow camp to find it absolutely deserted!

The rain was now falling faster; in a few minutes it set in--a true
Dakota flood. The trail of Blazing Star--clear till then--was now wholly
wiped out. There was nothing but the unmarked prairie around them; and
the guide, with the troopers, soaked to the skin, rode back with the
forlorn tidings.

CHAPTER XLI

The Pinto

Under such a cloud of disaster men cared little what the weather was;
the deluge of rain seemed rather appropriate. There was even a hope that
it might rain hard enough to postpone the race. But at ten it stopped,
and by eleven it had cleared off wholly. The race was to be at noon.

Word had been sent to Red Cloud, asking for two days' postponement,
which was curtly refused. "White man heap scared maybe," was his
scornful reply.

The Colonel held a hasty council of war with his officers. Their course
was clear. In Red Rover they still had a winner and the